Jonathan is an art director, a pretty good art director we might add. Even though he started out working in some dodgy night club in JHB he’s moved on to working as art director on international film sets like Eragon, Invictus, Beyond Borders and District 9. He’s passionate about architecture and design and dreams about someday designing his own feature film.

BH: WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR LIFE?

Having a job I can be passionate about.

BH: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ARCHITECTURE/ART DIRECTION?

I was always looking at houses and buildings. I remember spending a lot of time on a building site behind the house when I was 8. So architecture was where I was going to end up. Set design grew out of that.

BH: WHAT MOTIVATES YOU IN A ARCHITECTURAL SENSE

Logic.

BH: AS AN ART DIRECTOR, WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR CREATIVE INSPIRATION FROM?

You first need to look at the job of an art director. The Art director takes a concept from production designer, and turn it into something real. Ones input depends on the production designer, and this varies from job to job. I guess one’s ability as a designer also plays a part.

BH: HOW DID YOU SELL YOURSELF IN THE EARLY DAYS?

I am very bad at self promotion, and still don’t sell myself well. Nowadays I rely on my C.V and portfolio. Everyone in the film industry checks out your IMDB page so it’s important to make sure that’s correct.

BH: WHAT IS THE WORST JOB YOU EVER HAD?

I can’t really think that I had jobs that I didn’t enjoy. There were a few commercials that I could have skipped, but I never did work in a fish factory in Iceland. When I look back at the diverse jobs I have done, they all lead me to where I am now… so there was a plan, I just didn’t know it at the time.

BH: WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT?

Politics and paperwork, don’t do either well. I haven’t really overcome this, I tend to ignore both, and hope they go away.

BH: THE FILM INDUSTRY HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING CUT-THROAT. ANY LIFE LESSONS YOU PICKED UP ALONG THE WAY?

When negotiating a contract, stick to your rate. Once you have made the deal, live with it.

BH: EVER FEEL LIKE DOING SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT?

I can’t think that I would find something that’s as much fun. I would like to work on more buildings, and interiors….. but the nature of film work makes that quite difficult. Each film is a commitment. One can easily find yourself 1000kms from home for 6 months at a time – working a 10 hour a day , 6 days a week…..this doesn’t leave much time or space for branching out.

BH: EVERYONE HAS A DREAM, DOW DID YOU TURN YOURS INTO REALITY?

It may sound weird, but I actually just walked backwards into it.

BH: WHAT DREAMS DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT YOU’RE BUSY CHASING?

Obviously I would like to design a film, rather than just design the sets. This is more difficult because a part of the job is political, and as I have said, that’s not my forte. It is however, an idea that is out there. Outside career, the main goal is a 70’s ranch style bungalow with a tropical garden and a pool, in Durban. I have been stuck in colonial buildings with deco furniture for far too long. I have come to the conclusion that in terms of film design, art deco is a crutch.

BH: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN NOT WORKING?

Not much. After an ‘away ‘ film, one really wants to sit at home and do nothing. The autobiography of JRR Tolkien is amazingly dull. I always find that a comforting thought.

BH: IF YOU WERE MAGICALLY TRANSPORTED BACK TO BEING 10 YEARS OLD AGAIN – WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY THE SECOND TIME AROUND?

I would have bought the NAD amplifier and AR speakers that I wanted to get in 1979. I saw a set at a market the other day, and 30 years later it’s just as stylish.

BH: YOU’RE WALKING INTO A BANK DESIGNED BY JONATHAN HELY HUTCHINSON. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE, HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL? WHAT’S THE EXPERIENCE LIKE?

For me, great. I am always very comfortable in spaces I design, they are always balanced. It will have elements that say it’s a bank, and to most people will experience it as a familiar space, without having to think too much about it. Most people don’t want to be confronted by “architecture”. For the few that do look around, there’s a large amount of humor in the design, I think that’s important.

BH: IF YOU WERE THE CEO OF SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS- WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

Declare independence from the state and work towards being a profit driven organization.

BH: DID YOU EVER DOUBT YOURSELF, AND IF SO – WHAT KEPT YOU GOING?

Often. More times that I would happily admit. I kept going by leaving the really big decisions to my board of directors who are made up of God, The Virgin Mary and 12 carefully selected saints. They look after bringing in the business and helping me with strategy, I just worked my arse off. Seriously, I am not kidding.

BH: WHAT POSTER DID YOU HAVE ABOVE YOUR BED IN HIGH SCHOOL?

There were 2, Joanna Lumney as Purdey and Tutankhamen.

BH: FOR THOSE PEOPLE JUST STARTING OUT, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM?

Listen to people around you, you are part of the team. Find out how people want to do things rather than prescribing how things should be done. Being independently wealthy wouldn’t hurt.